Shows Expose Turmoil in Unix, Linux Markets

Unix from The SCO Group and open-source Linux drew the attention of enterprise customers, software developers and industry partners, at the recent SCO Forum and LinuxWorld shows.

Change came at a furious clip recently for both the Unix and open-source communities at August trade shows.
Customers of The SCO Group Inc.s Unix found reasons to stay the course with its longstanding platform at its annual gathering in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, adherents of open-source development and Linux packed the aisles of the LinuxWorld conference and expo in San Francisco.
Aside from the usual crop of announcements of new products and updates as well as the proclamations of corporate support by partners and developers, attendees at both shows were surprised by the news that Sun Microsystems Inc. is considering making an attempt to acquire Novell Inc.

The move would have enormous repercussions for competitor IBM. The turmoil was sparked by a suggestive posting in the Weblog of Jonathan Schwartz, Sun president and chief operating officer.

These off-the-cuff comments were greeted with concern by analysts and customers at the shows. "Its totally crazy for him to be making a comment like that," said one analyst, a former Sun software executive.
Naturally, our reporters were on hand at both venues. Here is some of our coverage of the shows: